Confirmation of find after five years of study sparks more interest in Phu Phan mountains
PUBLISHED : 18 Jan 2024 at 20:33
A fossil found in the Phu Phan mountains in Sakon Nakhon province has been confirmed to belong to a 130-million-year-old crocodile species, authorities said on Thursday.
The discovery of the Varanosuchus sakonnakhonensis fossil has fuelled speculation that traces of other prehistoric animals might be hidden in the same region of northeastern Thailand.
The fossil was first discovered in 2018 by scholars from the Sakon Nakhon civilisation club in the mudstone mountain. It was later sent to experts at the Sirindhorn Museum and the Mahasarakham University Faculty of Science for examination.
After five years of preservation and research, in partnership with Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 in France, it has now been concluded with the help of a CT scan that the fossil is more than 130 million years old and belongs to a new species of so-called dwarf crocodiles.
It is believed to be the most advanced species of dwarf crocodile in Asia.
According to authorities, the fossil will be kept at the Phu Phan Museum, where a special display is now being prepared.